


Tale As Old As Time

by joytiny



Series: disney au [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: "beast" seonghwa, Alternate Universe - 18th century, Angst, Beauty and the Beast, Dancing, Disney, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Happy Ending, In a way, Injury, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Tragedy, Minor Character Death, No Period-Typical Homophobia, Non-Graphic Violence, Prince Seonghwa, being held prisoner, bookworm yeosang, but it's a bad guy, but make it seongsang, but not the furry kind, he has a mask instead, tiny hints of magical elements, villager yeosang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:49:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28078722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joytiny/pseuds/joytiny
Summary: “Aren’t you going to lock me up?” he asked, nodding over to the empty cell.The man raised the eyebrow that wasn’t hidden behind the mask, seemingly surprised for some inexplicable reason. Wasn’t this what he had kept Yeosang here for?“Is that what you want?” he finally asked, further confusing Yeosang.“O- of course not. I was just wondering–”“Follow me.”or: the seongsang beauty and the beast au absolutely nobody asked for
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Kang Yeosang/Park Seonghwa, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: disney au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057010
Comments: 19
Kudos: 102





	Tale As Old As Time

**Author's Note:**

> hii~  
> um, welcome to my first long ateez fic! my fourth ateez fic in total (fifth, if you count my minor participation in timeless by staylovely)  
> i have had this planned since march but the actual inspiration to write only struck me this saturday. i have this huge obsession with disney movies and beauty and the beast holds a somehow special place in my heart so it was just a matter of time until something like this would happen.  
> i wrote this in two days which is probably a new record for me regarding a fic of this length. 
> 
> anyway, this is of course very heavily based on the plot of the beauty and the beast movies with some big changes. the mask seonghwa is wearing in this is inspired by the phantom of the opera.
> 
> thanks so much to my sister (read her stuff, she's staylovely here on ao3) for being my first reader and for giving me pointers!
> 
> PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS IN THE TAGS! there isn't anything too graphic or violent going on but i want everybody to stay safe!

**_1789_ **

It was 8 o’clock sharp when Kang Yeosang stepped out into the dusty road to officially start his day.

He suppressed a sigh when he made his way to the market to buy some bread from Mr. Heo. His routine was the same every day. Buy breakfast, stop by the library to return his latest read and get a new one, prepare food for himself and his brother then go and collect some of the villagers’ laundry to mend or wash down by the well, check on his brother (who was most likely causing trouble somewhere), scold him, although knowing full well that Yeojun wouldn’t listen to him anyway.

The same spiel every day. And quite frankly, Yeosang was tired of it.

He longed for a change of scenery. To get away from this sleepy little town and its dull people. In a way, of course, he loved this small town. It was supposed to be his home and it was idyllic and pretty with the forest nearby. But after nineteen years, it simply got boring.

His dream was to head to the next big city first before travelling the whole world. Yeosang had read so much about Italy and Greece and countless other places. He tended to dive into the books he so loved to read to the point where it felt like he really went to the places described in his favorite novels.

But alas, travelling the world was out of the question for Yeosang.

He lived in this little village with his younger brother and their father who was almost never home, busy earning money to keep their tiny house. Yeosang provided for his brother by washing and mending the villagers’ clothes for a small fee.

In his free time, he read his beloved books. Despite having read every single book in the village library at least twice, he never grew tired of escaping into another world, another country far away. He loved to dive into a vivid love story or go on a thrilling adventure.

He could probably recite his favorite book by heart but that never stopped him from reading it over and over again.

Yeosang reached the market and bought the bread, making short conversation with Mr. Heo about his father and the prices for the eggs going up over at Mrs. Hwang’s stand. Once he was done shopping, he returned his book to the library. He once again borrowed his favorite, Romeo and Juliet, before he went and dropped the groceries off at home. He went back outside to feed the chickens and the horse, figuring that he could get in some reading before he had to wake his brother.

He knew that business wouldn’t get going until around noon, so he snooped through his favorite book until he finally went into his brother Yeojun’s room to wake him.

“Yeojun...” he softly called out to him, not wanting to startle his little brother out of his sleep. He found an unmoving pile of blankets and chuckled to himself at his sleepyhead brother. “Get up, you have to help me with work today,” he spoke up again, trying once more to wake Yeojun.

He threw back his brother’s blankets only to be met with – a pile of pillows. Yeojun was not in his bed.

Yeosang groaned and left the room, looking around the house for his brother, but to no avail. He checked the little stable where they kept their horse, a red-brown stallion named _Apple_. Yeojun wasn’t here either, which certainly would have surprised Yeosang.

His brother tended to evade work if Yeosang didn’t make him do it. Instead, Yeojun often got into trouble. He was only seventeen so Yeosang had a jolly hard time trying to keep track of him and his acts of mischief.

Just last week Yeojun had been dragged home by the collar by Mr. Jeon from the local entertainment house after trying to sneak into the ladies’ dressing rooms. The week before, Yeosang had been called down to the tavern to fetch his brother who had snuck in through the back door and gotten drunk on the wine.

Yeosang would have to mend at least half of the villagers’ clothes before he could even begin to pay the owner of the tavern back for that. He simply wished that he wasn’t alone with all of the workload and having to take care of his wild little brother.

“Yeosang!”

At the sound of his name being called out, Yeosang had to suppress another groan. He would recognize that arrogant tone of voice anywhere. He came out of the stable and found Lim Kijeong standing on his doorstep. He had probably tried to knock before while Yeosang had been busy looking around for his brother.

“Now is really not a good time, Kijeong,” Yeosang said, trying to mask his annoyance. Kijeong was certainly not what Yeosang had meant when he had wished for help.

Yeosang’s number of acquaintances was limited to the people in this village. However, in his life, he had never met a more shameless, more conceited rascal than Lim Kijeong.

Unfortunately, he was a hunting buddy of Yeosang’s father and therefore a good friend of the family. As far as Yeosang knew, Kijeong was from a bigger village but had somehow found his way here and just never left again. Much to Yeosang’s chagrin, his father had tasked Kijeong with “keeping an eye out for his boys”.

Kijeong had taken it a little too serious in regards to Yeosang. No amount of rejections had thrown Kijeong off. He still tried to win Yeosang over, he even saw it as some sort of a challenge. Kijeong was a proud man, a man that never lost. So he was convinced that he was irresistible to the point where Yeosang would eventually fall for him and agree to marry him. 

Needless to say, Yeosang would rather eat his own foot.

“Has Yeojun escaped your clutches again?” Kijeong asked, visibly amused. Yeosang suppressed a huff when the older man leaned against the door, an overly confident smirk on his face.

“Have you seen him?” Yeosang questioned through gritted teeth. He wished Kijeong would ever just stop playing games but of course, he wasn’t so lucky.

Kijeong’s smirk widened, clearly basking in the thought that Yeosang needed his help like some damsel in distress. Yeosang blamed his good manners for refraining from rolling his eyes. His father wouldn’t appreciate it if he disrespected his “golden boy”.

“Maybe I’ll tell you if I saw him if you have dinner with me tonight,” Kijeong said, puffing out his chest as if to tell him that he had shot the deer they would be eating himself. It probably would be like that if Yeosang agreed.

“I would rather do anything else,” Yeosang said bluntly before he could stop himself. Kijeong didn’t take offense. On the contrary, he seemed to think that Yeosang was implying to do anything else with _him_.

“I’m certain that could be arranged,” he smiled.

“Kijeong. I just want to find my brother and then get to work! I don’t have time for your silly games today,” Yeosang said, repulsed by the man in front of him. His cockiness was one of the traits Yeosang hated the most about him, aside from his constant bragging and the way he looked at Yeosang like he was a piece of meat.

“Your brother...” Kijeong trailed off, tapping his chin like he was thinking, “no, haven’t seen him today.” He cackled as Yeosang finally gave in to the urge to groan, annoyed at having wasted his time with this idiot.

Yeosang took off in the direction of the market but unfortunately, Kijeong caught up with him. He slung an arm around his shoulders, resisting every one of Yeosang’s attempts to shake it off.

“Let go of me, Kijeong, I’ve told you before that I’m not interested!”

“That is only because you’re not giving me a fair chance,” Kijeong argued in a lighthearted tone.

“Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why that is?” Yeosang asked him angrily. Kijeong only chuckled, not gracing him with an answer.

Yeosang’s gaze wandered around the town in search of his brother. He caught some of the villagers’ delighted gazes at the sight of him and Kijeong. Of course, the whole town loved the guy for some reason, and they all knew of his attraction towards Yeosang. The elderly ladies had told Yeosang that he and Kijeong made “such a nice couple” when he had come to pick up their laundry, making Yeosang’s skin crawl every time.

“Yeojun!” he called out when he spotted his little brother stumbling out of the entertainment house. “Are you serious? Again?” Yeosang yelled, finally shaking Kijeong’s muscular arm off him.

Yeojun grinned lazily and gave Yeosang a thumbs up. “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a lady’s–”

“I don’t want to hear it! You are seventeen years old, dear lord! The entertainment house is no place for you! I need your help with work today, so could you please get your act together?!”

“There, there, Yeosang,” Kijeong spoke up. Yeosang had almost forgotten he was there. Why did he have to remind him of his presence again? “Don’t be so hard on the little man. He’s simply growing up!”

Yeojun grinned up at Kijeong as the older man ruffled his hair.

“Growing up? If he were growing up, he would take responsibility instead of constantly trying to look up the ladies’ dresses! It’s indecent and disrespectful!” Yeosang complained but he was only met with laughter from Kijeong and a roll of eyes from his brother.

“You’re such a prude, Yeosang,” Yeojun mocked him.

Yeosang was by no means a prude. He simply found it repulsive how men of his age – and younger apparently – were behaving towards women. Maybe it was because of the many books he read, but he was a firm believer in treating people with respect. The, pardon the expression, village idiots simply thought they could act like pigs.

Unfortunately, his little brother was growing up to be one of them.

“Besides,” Yeojun now continued, “I don’t want to do laundry for the rest of my life anyway! I want to be like father. Go on the hunt! Like a real man!”

Now it was Yeosang’s turn to roll his eyes. Yeojun had definitely been spending too much time with the wrong crowd. “When you’re doing honest work, it doesn’t matter if it’s considered _manly_ or not! And aside from that, you are a terrible navigator, Kang Yeojun.”

“I am a _great_ navigator! Only because you’re too scared to go into the woods does not mean I am too!” Yeojun protested.

“I’ve had enough of this, Yeojun! You’re not going to be a hunter like father today, nor tomorrow. For now, you are to help me wash and mend clothes! Now, get over to Mrs. Kim’s, get her laundry and meet me at the well right away!”

Yeojun gave him a petulant look.

“ _Now_!”

His brother sighed and finally set off in the direction of their home. Mrs. Kim lived only a few houses over. She was elderly so she regularly let Yeosang do the laundry for her. He watched Yeojun angrily kick at pebbles as he stomped away.

“My, you really put your foot down,” Kijeong commented.

“Don’t you have anywhere else to be?” Yeosang snapped at him before turning on his heel and setting off in the opposite direction of his brother to head to the town well. He was glad to see that Kijeong had not followed him this time.

Yeosang sat down on the edge of the rather large well and let out a heavy sigh. It wasn’t even evening yet and he already felt exhausted at having to deal with his brother’s shenanigans. He just hoped that the boy would hurry with the laundry, so they could get some work done at least.

Yeosang was very well aware of the fact that his brother could lose track of time. He easily got distracted, whether it be by the ladies or some of the men dragging him along to get into all kinds of trouble.

This, however, was unlike him.

Yeosang had been waiting at the well for at least half an hour now with absolutely no sign of his brother whatsoever. Couldn’t he ever catch a break from running after him like a toddler?

With a sigh, Yeosang rose from the bricked edge of the well and set off in the direction of his house. It was only a five-minute walk until he got there. He was about to stop by at Mrs. Kim’s to check if she had held Yeojun back with tea or something of the sorts when he noticed that their stable door was wide open.

He rushed over to check on Apple only to find him gone. Yeosang cursed under his breath. His good-for-nothing brother must have taken the horse. Yeosang thought back to his brother’s earlier words about wanting to become a hunter like their father.

Yeosang shouldn’t have told him that he was a terrible navigator. He should have known that his defiant brother would just try to find a way to prove him wrong.

Had he really headed for the woods?

Yeosang had absolutely no way to follow him since Yeojun had taken their only horse. Unless... he dreaded the thought of having to ask Kijeong for anything, but he had three horses.

If Yeojun got lost in the woods and something happened to him Yeosang would never forgive himself. He swallowed his pride and took the short way to Kijeong’s house, fueled solely by the worry for his brother.

With utmost reluctance, Yeosang knocked on the door.

Kijeong opened after only a minute. His quizzical expression morphed into a wide grin upon seeing Yeosang on his doorstep. 

“Did you miss me that much?”

“Kijeong... I’m not here because I want to be, believe me. My brother–”

“Yeosang, darling. You can stop using your brother as an excuse to see me. You never need an excuse with me,” Kijeong interrupted him, reaching out to brush Yeosang’s bangs out of his face but Yeosang slapped his hand away.

“I am serious, Kijeong. I fear Yeojun has ridden off into the woods. I need to borrow one of your horses and go after him,” Yeosang said, trying to reason with Kijeong but the older man didn’t even seem to listen to him.

“How about you come in? I’ll make us some tea and we can sit in front of the fireplace,” Kijeong said, pulling at Yeosang’s wrist.

“Just forget it! I’ll find another way!” Yeosang said, once more shaking Kijeong off of him. Frustrated, he turned around and stomped away. He briefly considered simply stealing one of Kijeong’s horses and taking matters into his own hands, but before he could make a decision, a movement caught his eye.

Apple was running through the town gates, fully saddled and clearly agitated but without a rider. Yeojun was nowhere to be seen and Apple had clearly come from the direction of the woods. Dread settled in Yeosang’s stomach as all kinds of horrible scenarios came to his mind.

“Apple,” he called out to the horse, grabbing him by his reins, trying to calm him down. Apple whinnied in distress and it took quite some time for Yeosang to get him to stop moving around like he was going to run off any minute. “There you go. Good boy,” Yeosang said calmly, although his mind was racing.

What if Yeojun had fallen off the horse and broken his neck?

“Apple, I need your help,” Yeosang said, climbing onto the horse. “I need you to help me find Yeojun, can you do that?”

The horse whinnied again as though he had understood Yeosang and they set off in the direction he had come from.

By the time Yeosang had reached the woods the sun had already begun to set. The thick dense forest doing nothing to help the remaining daylight. Yeosang hadn’t been this far into the woods a great many times, especially not at night, so his hopes of finding Yeojun were slimming by the minute.

He couldn’t give up, though. He had to find Yeojun and get him home safely, otherwise he would probably end up as dinner for some wolves.

“I know you’re exhausted, Apple, but we need to keep going,” he said to the horse. He was mainly encouraging himself. He couldn’t give up on his brother. What would he tell his father?

A low growl made Yeosang freeze. Speaking of wolves...

Apple whinnied nervously, starting to move his head in agitation. “Stay calm, boy. It’s going to be fine,” Yeosang said, trying his best to follow his own advice, not wanting to show the horse any of his nervousness. Another growl sounded from the woods. Yeosang had to get out of here right now or _he_ would be the one to end up as wolf dinner.

“Come on, boy,” he said to Apple and set off in the direction they had come from. Or at least what he thought was the direction they had come from. Yeosang generally wasn’t bad at navigating, but as stated before, he hadn’t been this far into the woods many times and now that he couldn’t see properly anymore, it was hard to find the way back.

He decided to keep heading in the direction he had settled on as anything was better than remaining in his current spot.

Yeosang didn’t know if it was just his imagination but it felt like the wolves were right on his heel. He urged Apple to go faster, hoping the horse wouldn’t trip on any roots and hurt himself.

Slowly but surely, the woods began to clear, and the moon illuminated the path ahead of Yeosang a little bit. He must have taken a wrong direction, though, because his surroundings didn’t look familiar to Yeosang at all. But for now, that didn’t matter. He just needed to get away from any kind of hungry predators.

Yeosang kept going and going at fast speed until he came to a brief halt in front of a pair of gates. They were half open, almost as if they were inviting him in, so Yeosang only hesitated for a second before deciding to enter.

He finally allowed himself to go a little slower and take a closer look at his surroundings. Now that he had the light of the moon and the stars to guide him along, he realized that he had taken one _major_ wrong turn.

Ahead of him was a castle, looking like it came straight out of one of his countless books. Only much less glamorous. It was grand but not in great shape. The roof tiles had fallen off in some places and some of the stone gorgons that decorated the little white pillars along the way were missing ears or even feet.

The garden Yeosang had ridden into was the complete opposite, though. It was neat, clearly kept with much love. He was currently riding along a gravel path towards a set of stairs that would lead up to the entrance of the castle. There were no torches burning anywhere, so the castle looked a lot scarier than it probably was.

Yeosang dismounted and led Apple to a fountain in the midst of an accumulation of roses – he was careful not to accidentally trample any of them – to let him drink and rest a little before facing the ominous castle again.

He thought he remembered there being some spooky tales that had gone around in the village about a castle in the woods, inhabited by a hideous beast, scarier than any creature of the woods. But he had always believed it had just been a stupid story to keep the little kids from venturing too far into the woods.

Otherwise, wouldn’t the hunters at the tavern be more threatened? Was there really a _beast_ living here?

Yeosang crept up the stairs timidly, unsure of what to tell the host. He was trespassing, after all. If he really was a beast – no, Yeosang immediately scolded himself for even considering such a ridiculous thought. There were no such things as _beasts_. However, he could be encountering a very grumpy host.

Maybe Yeojun had fled here, though. Maybe he had taken the same way and was currently warming up in front of a fireplace with a gracious host feeding him a succulent dinner.

With renewed confidence Yeosang lifted his arm and used the heavy doorknocker to make his presence known. He waited, anxiously twiddling his thumbs, looking behind himself to check on Apple who was still drinking from the fountain. After a while he knocked again.

No answer.

He decided to push against the door to see if it was locked and let out a surprised little yelp when he immediately found out that it wasn’t. The door opened the way into an entrance hall and Yeosang carefully stepped inside, making sure to brush off his shoes beforehand.

“Hello?” he called out, his voice breaking the slightest bit with nervousness. He walked along the carpeted floor, looking up at the high ceilings to find a chandelier dangling above him. It wasn’t lit but he detected a source of light to his left.

Yeosang decided to follow the light and ended up in what seemed to be a sort of living room. There was an armchair placed in front of the fireplace which had omitted the light. A small table stood next to the armchair and an unfinished cup of tea stood on top of it. So someone actually lived here.

“Hello?” Yeosang tried again. “I don’t mean to intrude... I got lost in the woods while looking for my little brother...”

He felt a little silly talking to nobody in particular but he figured he stood better chances if the host of this castle knew that Yeosang wasn’t here to rob him. Yeosang figured that nobody was hiding in the living room and headed back into the entrance hall.

Two flights of stairs, one to the left and one to the right, led up to the next floor of the castle coming together to form a sort of indoor balcony. Yeosang went up the stairs on the left side of the room and looked around. There were two hallways on either side, one lit with torches, the other pitch black.

Yeosang decided to continue following the light. He noticed that there were several paintings hanging on the walls, however, each of them was covered with a curtain. His curiosity made him want to peek, but he refrained. He was sure the host wouldn’t appreciate his privacy being invaded like this if he were to suddenly find Yeosang here.

Instead Yeosang continued walking without touching anything. A small, narrow set of stairs in the middle of the hallway distracted him. Torches were lit there too, so he decided to take that way first. The stairs were cold and gray, nothing like the rest of the castle – or at least what he had seen of it so far. There were no decorations, no paintings and only very few torches every five or six feet.

It almost felt like a dungeon, only that it wasn’t underground, obviously, as Yeosang continued upward. Once he had reached the top of the stairs, he was looking down another hallway. This one, however, showed cells on either side of the walls. It was like a prison.

“Hello?” a small, yet familiar voice sounded from the third cell on the right and Yeosang rushed to the source. His eyes widened in shock when he came face to face with his brother.

“Yeojun!” he exclaimed, gripping onto the bars.

Yeojun burst into tears upon seeing him, nearly falling over himself to rush to the bars as well. “Yeosang!”

“My goodness, how did you get in there?” Yeosang asked frantically, looking around for a way to set his brother free. Yeojun was still crying, grabbing at him through the bars.

“I’m so sorry, Yeosang! I never should have run off! You were right... I’m a terrible hunter, I- I got lost and I just...”

“Shh, it’s all good, Yeojun. I’ll get you out and then we’ll go home, yes?” Yeosang said, trying to reassure his brother, to calm him down.

“B- be careful. We’re not alone,” Yeojun said, still crying. Yeosang had figured as much. He hadn’t assumed that his brother had locked himself up.

“Just stay calm,” he mumbled. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. It wouldn’t do anybody any good if Yeosang lost his composure right now. He searched his pockets for some kind of needle or hairpin that would help him break open that door.

Suddenly, a rough hand grabbed at his upper arm and he was roughly pulled to his feet. “Trespasser!” a low, angry voice said.

“L- leave my brother alone!” Yeojun cried as Yeosang struggled against the newcomer’s grip. He only saw a dark cloak and a sleek black mask that covered half of the man’s face, only leaving his mouth completely visible. The other half was turned away from him to glare at Yeojun.

He pulled free from the man’s grip and took him in more clearly. He was dressed in all black, rather fancily too. Very different from the people in the village who were more focused on practicality than appearance. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was probably the owner of this castle.

Yeosang finally got a fairly good look at his face as well. He looked young and rather handsome, even with the black mask that covered most of the left half of his face. And the furious look he shot Yeojun.

“Look, sir, I only came here because I was searching for my brother,” he tried to reason with the stranger once he had finally regained his ability to speak. The man now focused his angry gaze on Yeosang, making him take a step back in surprise.

“Your brother _stole_ from me!” he roared; his voice husky and full of temperament.

“One apple! I was hungry!” Yeojun tried to defend himself in a terrified, squeaky tone of voice.

Yeosang checked his pockets again, this time for money or any different kind of compensation. He came up empty-handed. Sighing in defeat, he looked up at the man, hoping that he could reason with him after all.

“Very well, how long until you are going to let him go? He’s only seventeen and I think you have frightened him enough for him to learn from his mistake,” Yeosang said, trying to sound as calm and reasonable as humanly possible in this situation. In reality, he was shaking like a leaf, absolutely terrified of this stranger, intriguing as he may be.

“I don’t intend to let him go,” the man said coldly. “Seventeen is certainly old enough to know that one doesn’t easily get away with stealing!”

Yeosang’s heart stopped. He was going to keep Yeojun here? He couldn’t let that happen. His little brother may be a troublemaker, but he didn’t deserve a lifetime in captivity for that.

“Take me in his stead then,” he blurted out. Part of him wanted to slap a hand over his mouth and take it back, but the other side, his big brother side, stood his ground, looking right back into the man’s dark brown eyes. The need to protect his younger brother was stronger than the need to get out himself.

“Yeosang, don’t!”

“Be quiet!” Yeosang scolded his brother without looking at him, still holding the man’s stare.

“You really choose to stay here for eternity just to save your wimpy brother?” the man finally asked. Despite his surprised tone, his grim expression did not waver. Yeosang’s face, however, almost fell at the word _eternity_ but he refused to show the man anything but determination.

“Yes.”

“Very well then. You have made your choice.”

The man turned away from Yeosang to unlock Yeojun’s cell with a big rusty key that he had produced from the inside of his cloak. Yeojun immediately stumbled out and threw himself at Yeosang, crying and apologizing uncontrollably.

Yeosang held his own tears in with great difficulty, stroking Yeojun’s hair and once again telling him that things would be fine. “Take Apple and go home, Yeojun. Take care of everything and please, stay away from Kijeong. He’s no good.”

Yeojun nodded frantically, wrapping Yeosang into another hug. He looked at the man again, a pleading expression adorning his face. “Can’t you please let us both go? We’ll compensate you for the apple!” he pleaded, looking about ready to drop to his knees and beg.

The man remained cold, looking at Yeojun with utmost disdain. “Your brother has made his choice. Go now before I change my mind and keep you _both_ here!”

Yeosang pushed at his brother’s shoulder. “Go!” he urged him, not wanting the man to follow through with his threat. “Take good care of yourself. I know you’re a good kid.”

Yeojun sniffled and looked back at Yeosang like he contemplated staying as well. But eventually his higher reasoning won. He probably thought of their father and how heartbroken he would be if neither of his sons would ever return. With one last teary glare, Yeojun turned around and ran off.

Yeosang just hoped that he would make it home in one piece.

A few minutes passed in which Yeosang had to bite back the tears, the realization that he would never be seeing his brother and father again catching up with him. He eyed the cold, empty cell. The man hadn’t even granted Yeojun a bed to sleep on.

This certainly was not what Yeosang had had in mind when he had longed for a change of scenery.

To his utmost irritation the man only stood there looking at Yeosang, unmoving. It was as though he was waiting for him to start crying but he would not give the stranger the satisfaction of breaking down in front of him.

Collecting his thoughts and emotions, Yeosang stood up straight and looked right at the man again. “Aren’t you going to lock me up?” he asked, nodding over to the empty cell.

The man raised the eyebrow that wasn’t hidden behind the mask, seemingly surprised for some inexplicable reason. Wasn’t this what he had kept Yeosang here for?

“Is that what you want?” he finally asked, further confusing Yeosang.

“O- of course not. I was just wondering–”

“Follow me.”

The strange man spun around, his cloak flying dramatically with the movement, and walked off. Following the man’s order, Yeosang wondered if he could manage to take him by surprise and get out of this castle to return to his brother. He looked around for any sort of weapon.

Yeosang was by no means weak – doing tons of laundry with nothing but a washboard had given him a fair amount of arm strength – but he didn’t know if this man was armed. Or if there were more people around.

No, he needed to be smart about this.

“Where are you taking me?” Yeosang asked, only for his words to be ignored. The man kept walking, Yeosang ineptly following after him until they seemed to be in a different part of the castle.

It was much brighter than the area they had just come from. A row of chandeliers, a little smaller than the one in the entrance hall lit up a hallway with high ceilings. On each side along the wall there were more portraits. The ones here weren’t covered and showed mostly paintings of landscapes and flowers.

Yeosang didn’t know much about art but he couldn’t help but admire the paintings as he walked past them. He almost didn’t notice that the strange man had come to a halt, barely stopping in time to prevent running into him.

“You will stay here,” the man said, opening a door for Yeosang to show a bedchamber that made Yeosang’s jaw drop. It had high ceilings, like the rest of the castle and was held in mostly gold and white. Yeosang was sure that his entire house would fit in this room alone. A canopy bed stood on the opposite site of the door and the sight of it made Yeosang realize just how exhausted he was.

He looked up at the man who had not moved at all. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“Is it not to your liking?”

Yeosang had to suppress a huff at the irony of the question. The man quite literally held him _prisoner_ , fancy room or not. “Do you actually care?” he asked.

“No, it is this or the cell.”

Yeosang thought back to the cold, empty cell and took another look into the bedroom. Would the man have offered Yeojun the same chamber eventually? With a pained sigh at the thought of his brother, Yeosang stepped into the bedchamber.

“I shall leave you now,” the man announced, turning on his heel, once again causing the cloak to fly around him.

“Wait!” Yeosang called out. To his surprise, the man stopped in his tracks, albeit without turning around to face him again. “Are you all alone here?” he inquired.

“I’m not one for company.”

With these words, the man left Yeosang behind, shutting the door with a heavy thud.

The air left Yeosang’s body as he crumbled down on the bed. It was slightly dusty, probably from lack of use, since this man didn’t really seem like he had guests over often. He had even just said so himself.

Yeosang had managed to keep his composure until now, not wanting to break down in front of his capturer, but now that he was alone, he finally allowed himself to cry. He couldn’t believe that he had ended up in this unsettling situation when just this morning he had been buying bread at the village market.

The thought of his little village caused a loud sob to rip through his body. Sure, he was well-accommodated here, more so than he would have expected, but he had left everything he had ever known without even a chance to say goodbye.

Yeosang cried a lot that night, not sleeping for a second. It was only when the first rays of sunshine peeked through his half-drawn curtains that the exhaustion washed over him, causing him to pass out and fall into a dreamless sleep.

A harsh knock woke Yeosang up with a start and he sat up in his bed. He hadn’t covered himself with the blanket and just fallen asleep fully dressed right on top of it. A look out of the window showed him that he had slept through the whole day as the sun was beginning to set again.

Part of Yeosang had hoped that this had all just been a strange nightmare, but the bitter reality came back to him upon taking in his eccentric surroundings. Another knock startled Yeosang. He slid off the bed – his feet couldn’t quite reach the ground when he let his legs dangle over the edge.

“What is it?” Yeosang asked, probably sounding rude, but he usually did not take lightly to being held hostage, so excuse his sour mood.

“Join me in the dining hall!” It was the man’s voice, the faint huskiness unmistakable to Yeosang. He couldn’t suppress a rather undignified snort at his words.

“You’re holding me hostage and now you want to have dinner with me?” he shouted through the still closed door in utter disbelief.

“Fine, if you would prefer to starve to death...”

“I would very much prefer that!” Yeosang called back but the man must have taken off as he didn’t grace him with a response. He opened the door to check if he was really alone, surprised to see that he could open the door in the first place. He wasn’t even locked up.

This man was a strange one.

Yeosang looked down to find a small loaf of bread on a plate placed on his doorstep. He looked around but the man was nowhere in sight anymore. His determination to starve in protest crumbled when his stomach made a loud grumbling noise, so he picked up the plate and closed his bedroom door again.

He hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning after all.

 _Had_ he even eaten yesterday?

His life at the village felt like a different lifetime entirely. It was still so surreal to him to be here now in this strange castle that nobody really seemed to acknowledge. For nineteen years of Yeosang’s life it had probably been close-by and yet nobody seemed to deem it more than a spooky myth. Was it that well hidden to the hunters?

Then why had Yeosang found it so easily?

Yeosang silently munched on his bread, fighting the urge to start crying again. There was nothing he could do about this situation at the moment. Even if he made it out of the castle, which he might actually manage, leaving right now would just send him right back into the claws of the wolves he had so desperately tried to get away from.

No, he would not continue crying. He would make do of his time here and maybe one day this man would set him free. If he reasoned with him, maybe he would let him go.

Yeosang set his now empty plate aside and got up, looking around the room. It wasn’t messy at all, but he had already noticed the faint layer of dust the night before. If he couldn’t run away or do anything else, he could at least distract himself with some cleaning.

He peeked out of his room again in search of some cleaning supplies. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to leave but he couldn’t very well clean with his bare hands. Yeosang ventured down the hallway and looked around. There were a few more doors much like his, that led to more bedchambers.

At the end of the hall was a smaller door, which Yeosang opened carefully. He made a triumphant little noise when he found cleaning supplies and quickly began to carry them to his room. Since he didn’t have any access to water, he settled for only a broomstick and a feather duster.

His first few days at the castle passed very much like this. He refused to eat dinner with the strange man, although he had not actually _asked_ him again, yet Yeosang always found something to eat on his doorstep. His room was soon squeaky clean after acquiring some water. The man didn’t really seem to mind him roaming around so Yeosang had managed to find more things to clean and mend.

The castle interior was still mostly in good shape, but it was dusty and uncared for. Some of the curtains that hung in front of the large windows in the hallways were ripped, so Yeosang had begun to mend them with the help of the supplies he always kept in a pouch strapped to his belt.

The cleaning and mending provided a welcome distraction from this seemingly hopeless situation he was in. When he had gone outside in the search for water, he had ventured through the garden and ended up at the gates he had come through. They were shut and wouldn’t budge even when Yeosang threw himself against them. His shoulder still ached a little from the attempt.

So, maybe Yeosang was free to walk the castle as he pleased but he was by no means free to leave.

Three days had passed before he heard the man’s voice calling through his closed door again. Yeosang had just gotten back to his room from a day of mending the last pair of curtains on this floor and now perked up when the man spoke.

“Would you... would you care to join me for dinner tonight?”

Yeosang furrowed his brows. Last time the man hadn’t asked so politely. Yeosang contemplated his answer for a moment. He had found himself missing the contact with other people a little bit. And maybe the man had more to offer at an actual dinner table than a loaf of bread or a single baked potato.

“I don’t suppose you have any clothes for me to change into?” he asked, looking down at his worn-out clothes which he had been wearing for days.

“There might be some in the closet. You are free to pick whatever is to your liking. Change and join me... please.”

Yeosang was almost startled by the man’s changed tone. “Fine, I will join you for dinner,” he finally agreed, still a little stunned as he slid off the bed and made his way over to the closet he had ignored until now. He hadn’t deemed it right to look through someone else’s clothes. Although, he wasn’t quite sure who they even belonged to, considering that the man was clearly alone here.

Once he had found something simple to wear – which had not been easy since most of the clothes in that closet were fit for a prince – he timidly made his way out of his room, down the hall. He went the same way he had come from when the man had first brought him here. Yeosang couldn’t help but feel a little pleased when he noticed that it looked so much more inviting now with the dust-free paintings and the mended curtains.

Yeosang had found the dining room by chance a day prior when he had strolled around the castle in search of an area to clean next, so he had no trouble finding it now.

A long table stood in the middle of the room with eight chairs surrounding it. A large chandelier hung over it, illuminating the room. The man was seated at the high end of the table in front of one of the three fireplaces in the room, waiting patiently for Yeosang to enter. The table was fully set with expensive looking plates and silver cutlery. The food had already been served and Yeosang’s mouth watered at the sight of a chicken roast sitting proudly in the middle.

Yeosang sat down on the other side of the table, opposite from the man in order not to get too close to him. He noticed that a chalice of glass had been filled with what seemed to be wine for him already.

They began to eat in awkward silence. Yeosang almost started to regret coming here although he had to admit that the chicken tasted fantastic. Part of him wondered if the man had made it himself, but he was too tense to ask him. If so, he was a fantastic cook.

“I...” the man suddenly spoke up, once again startling Yeosang who looked up. The man was fidgeting a little bit, his hand wandering up to adjust the mask he was once again wearing to hide the left half of his face. “I couldn’t help but notice you cleaning the castle.”

Dread settled in Yeosang’s stomach. “Do you not approve? I was looking for a way to pass the time,” he rambled, almost stumbling over his words to explain himself.

The man quickly waved his hands. “No, that is not what I meant. It’s quite fine. I was merely pointing it out because it hasn’t been this clean around here in a very long time,” he said.

“It’s just something I do...” Yeosang mumbled into his chalice which he had lifted to his lips to get rid of the dryness in his throat from the sudden anxiety that had washed over him for a moment. He had thought the man would get angry at him.

“Well, you are free to keep doing it,” the man told him. “As long as you stay away from the west wing.”

Yeosang’s interest was immediately piqued at his words. What was in the west wing? Why wasn’t he allowed to go there? He wanted to ask but he figured that would probably really make the man mad. So instead, he agreed.

Yeosang looked at the man again, eyes falling onto the curious mask he was wearing. It was more visible to him than it had been the last time he had paid attention to it in the cell. He wondered if he was wearing it to hide something or simply for aesthetic.

Suddenly, he realized something. “I don’t even know your name!” he blurted his thoughts before he could stop himself. He had been calling him ‘the man’ in his head for several days now.

“You needn’t know my name,” came the man’s response.

Yeosang leaned back in his chair a little, fully sated. “If I’m to spend all of eternity here, wouldn’t it be appropriate to at least know your name?” he asked. A pause followed in which the man seemed to consider his words. Yeosang leaned forward again, resting his elbows on the table. “Look, I’ll start. I’m Yeosang,” he introduced himself.

“I know. Your brother called you by your name.”

Yeosang flinched a little at the mention of Yeojun. His worry hadn’t eased a bit over the past few days. He couldn’t stop wondering whether he had made it back home safely. He managed to keep his face straight in front of the man, though.

A sigh escaped the man’s lips. He lifted up his cup and took a sip of his own wine. “Seonghwa,” he finally said. “My name is Seonghwa.”

Yeosang perked up at getting a clear answer from him. Seonghwa. He almost told him that it was a really pretty name, but he didn’t. That certainly wouldn’t be appropriate. This man – Seonghwa – was still keeping him here, after all.

Although was it really all that bad if he wasn’t even locked up?

So far Seonghwa had made no attempts to block him from leaving the castle. If Yeosang really tried, he might find a way out and if he did... would Seonghwa even stop him?

Yeosang cleared his throat, snapping out of his thoughts. “Thank you for dinner,” he said politely before promptly deciding he would go for it and ask: “Did you make it?”

“I have a cook,” came Seonghwa’s curt response.

Yeosang’s eyes widened in surprise. “There’s someone else here?”

“The kitchen staff,” Seonghwa answered, elegantly dabbing his mouth with a napkin before continuing, “they keep to themselves because they know not to cross me.”

“How very intimidating,” Yeosang said in a sudden approach of sarcasm.

“Watch your tone,” Seonghwa warned him, his voice hardening but Yeosang somehow wasn’t as scared of him as he had been before this dinner, so he didn’t acknowledge the warning.

“Can I meet them?” he asked instead.

Seonghwa sighed once more. “Do as you please.”

“You really are a charming fellow, aren’t you?” Yeosang said bitterly. “Are you holding them hostage too?” Seonghwa slammed his hand on the table with a force that made the entire table shake. Yeosang had gone too far.

“You offered to stay here!” Seonghwa almost shouted, triggering a sense of defensiveness in Yeosang who, despite being a little shocked at the sudden outburst, didn’t back down so easily.

“In exchange for my seventeen-year-old brother! Whom you kept here for stealing a stupid apple not out of malice but _hunger_!” Yeosang fired back.

“He was trespassing and trampling the roses!” Seonghwa argued, making movement to rise from his chair, clearly angered.

“The- the _roses_?!”

Yeosang had already noticed upon his arrival that the garden was kept meticulously neat, especially the roses. Had Yeojun, who wasn’t exactly known to care much for plants or the beauty of nature, been careless and stepped on the roses? Had that been the reason for Seonghwa to lock him up in this ghastly cell?

Yeosang remembered being careful when leading his horse to the fountain, as to not step on any of the roses. Had Seonghwa seen that? Had that made a difference in his accommodation?

“Dinner is over now, return to your chamber at once!” Seonghwa snapped at him.

“But–”

“ _Now_!”

Seonghwa’s tone was intimidating all of a sudden, so Yeosang figured that it would not be smart to anger him any further. Just when he had thought that this man might not be as bad as he had first assumed, he went ahead to prove him wrong. Yeosang left the dining room without a word of good night.

The next morning, Yeosang decided to look for the kitchen. If there were more people here Yeosang wanted to meet them. He simply hoped they wouldn’t be as grim as his sunshine of a _host_.

He got lost a few times in search for the kitchen seeing as he had never been there before. Eventually he found it on the ground level of the castle, hidden in the far back but only two doors and a staircase away from the dining room.

Yeosang wasn’t sure whether he should knock or if it was fine for him to simply enter. After a moment of contemplation, he chose the latter option, carefully opening the wooden door to peak inside.

He didn’t know what he expected, maybe a busy rattling of pots and pans to get everything ready for breakfast or maybe some grim old ladies working in silence. It certainly hadn’t been... _this_.

Two men, seemingly around Yeosang’s age were laughing and waltzing through the whole kitchen, spinning each other around and looking at each other as though the other had hung the stars in the sky. A third man, just as young as the other two, was singing a dramatic ballad, albeit horribly off-key.

“You’re getting quite good at this, my dearest,” the slightly taller one; a slim man with broad shoulders and a small face with sharp features, said fondly, spinning the other around. The smaller man laughed melodically and pulled the other close again. He had a slightly broader build but still held something delicate in his features.

“I’ve been a better dancer than you since we were children, Sannie,” he said, although it was clearly meant in a joking manner. ‘Sannie’ interrupted their little waltz to wrap his arms around the other man’s waist and hold him close.

“Now, now, lovebirds! Back to work!” the third man said, chuckling fondly. He seemed to be the cook Seonghwa had mentioned yesterday, judging from the chef’s hat on his head alone. He was much taller than the other two with kind eyes and a wide smile that made him seem very trustworthy.

“Looks like we have company!” the small man suddenly pointed out and Yeosang realized that he had been standing there, unmoving for the past few minutes.

“I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to intrude,” he quickly apologized but the small man had already skipped over to him, regarding him with a bright smile that instantly made Yeosang like him.

“Are you the person we cooked the other serving for yesterday? I wouldn’t have expected the prince’s prisoner to be quite so handsome!” he exclaimed, his voice loud but not obnoxiously so. He was so full of energy that Yeosang almost felt a little overwhelmed after spending so much time in quiet isolation.

His mind picked up on the man’s words. “Prince?”

“Wooyoung, you loudmouth!” the one previously dubbed as Sannie scolded the other man who only grinned sheepishly.

“Oopsie,” Wooyoung chirped, not seeming all that sorry to have spilled something that was clearly information Yeosang shouldn’t have gotten.

The cook rolled his eyes before stepping forward. “It is really nice to meet you. Please excuse my kitchen boys, they can be a little rampant sometimes. My name is Yunho, I’m Seonghwa’s cook. These two are Wooyoung and San, my kitchen boys.”

“My name is Yeosang. I’m... well, as you so precisely put it, Seonghwa’s prisoner,” Yeosang introduced himself. “A- are you...” he trailed off, not sure how to ask them why exactly they were here. If they were hostages too. But they seemed so happy and carefree.

“We’ve been Seonghwa’s loyal servants ever since we were children,” Wooyoung spoke up, clearly having picked up Yeosang’s implications, “especially after the attack.”

“Wait, attack?” Yeosang questioned, alarmed.

“Oh dear, I’ve said too much again,” Wooyoung lamented, slightly smacking his own lips.

San wrapped an arm around Wooyoung’s waist and gave him a mock-scolding look. “You should really learn how to keep your mouth shut in front of strangers, my dearest.”

“I can’t help it! It has been so long since we’ve met somebody new!” Wooyoung said excitedly.

“Pardon my curiosity, but what attack?” Yeosang inquired again. Was that the reason the curtains had been so ripped up and some of the paintings were covered up?

“I don’t suppose there is any harm in telling him now. He is going to be staying with us, after all,” Wooyoung reasoned but San and Yunho only shook their heads.

“It’s nothing personal,” San addressed Yeosang with a friendly smile. “We just... well, the boss would get really mad if we told you.”

And speak of the devil, the door suddenly burst open and Seonghwa strutted in, causing all four of them to jump. From what Yeosang could tell, Seonghwa didn’t seem to be down here very often. He had mentioned the previous day that the kitchen staff kept to themselves.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” he said to his servants who quickly scrambled to their assigned posts. “I have a task for you,” Seonghwa addressed Yeosang.

Yeosang furrowed his brows in confusion. “A task?”

“Follow me.” Much like the first night, Seonghwa spun around and walked off, causing Yeosang to follow him after throwing one last nervous glance over his shoulder. Wooyoung gave him an encouraging grin, which calmed Yeosang down a little bit.

Once again, Yeosang was stunned by the sheer size of this castle when Seonghwa opened a set of double doors to reveal the grandest library Yeosang had ever laid eyes upon. He had never seen this many books in his life and, he couldn’t lie, his heart did a little backflip at the sight of them.

“Do... do you like them?” Seonghwa asked, seemingly having picked up on Yeosang’s sheer delight. Still in awe, Yeosang couldn’t do much more than nod as his eyes continued to scan the large bookshelves that lo and behold, reached all the way up to the second floor. The second floor, as shown by another interior balcony was pretty much the same, its shelves reaching up to the ceiling. The library was well lit by two large chandeliers and the high windows that adorned the entire room, the only places on the wall where there were no bookshelves. Yeosang noticed a small reading corner to his right with a comfortable looking armchair, a small table and a burning fireplace.

He certainly wouldn’t mind spending eternity in _here_.

Suddenly remembering that Seonghwa had been talking about a task, Yeosang snapped out of his trance and looked at the man who had been studying him quietly the whole time. Yeosang blushed at getting so carried away by the sight of books.

“I assume you would like for me to clean this place?” he asked, unable to hide the twinge of excitement at spending time in here, maybe secretly reading a few of the books.

“Indeed,” Seonghwa confirmed with a single nod, “but you are also free to read whatever interests you.”

Yeosang gawked at him unabashedly. Having read every single book in his village’s library multiple times he found himself delighted at the opportunity to discover a whole new world of books he had never heard of before.

“Why are you being so kind to me?” Yeosang asked for the lack of better words to express the gratitude he suddenly felt for the man who was holding him prisoner.

“Would you prefer I lock you in the dungeons?” Seonghwa asked, surprised.

Yeosang almost chuckled. That threat was starting to become rather empty. “Well, no... but you have to admit this isn’t a normal way to treat your prisoner. I get a bedroom, freedom to roam around the castle and now you’re even letting me read all of your books?”

Seonghwa seemed almost... flustered. That certainly was a new look on him even with only half of his face visible due to the mask. Yeosang wondered if he ever took it off.

“Well, you _are_ cleaning the castle,” Seonghwa reasoned.

This time Yeosang did chuckle. It was the first time he had laughed in front of Seonghwa. “But I started doing that on my own accord, out of boredom.”

“I have to leave now,” Seonghwa announced, ready to turn to leave Yeosang behind again.

“Seonghwa–”

“Just take what you’re given and stop asking foolish questions,” he interrupted Yeosang, although not with the usual sharpness in his voice. Before Yeosang could get another word in, Seonghwa was already out the door, leaving him behind.

This time however, instead of feeling the usual frustration, Yeosang couldn’t help but smile a little.

Yeosang immediately got to cleaning, dusting off shelves while occasionally letting his fingers trace over the spine of a book that interested him. He flipped through a few of them, trying to find something that really piqued his interest. Now that he had such a wide selection, he allowed himself to be a little picky.

To get to the tops of the shelves he had to climb up the rolling ladders. He dusted them off before allowing himself to look at the books. He found something that interested him. It was the story of a young girl that came to live with someone dubbed by the world as a beast. Due to a curse, he couldn’t leave his castle and was forced to spend the rest of his life by himself. Until this girl came by his castle by chance and they fell in love, therefore managing to lift the curse.

Yeosang couldn’t help but be reminded of his own situation. Sure, Seonghwa was no beast and Yeosang doubted that he was cursed but he couldn’t deny that there were some parallels. Well, except for the love story aspect, of course. He grabbed the book and made his way down the ladder. He got comfortable in the reading corner and started absorbing the book.

“Yeosang?”

Yeosang startled at suddenly being addressed. Wooyoung stood in the entrance of the library, grinning at him. Yeosang looked out of the window. It was evening. Had he really been reading this long?

“I came by to tell you that dinner is served, if you’d like some,” Wooyoung told him.

Yeosang looked back at him, confused. “Why is it you who is telling me this? Where is Seonghwa?”

“Oh, Seonghwa went out. He said he had something to do but he should be back before nightfall. He ordered us to start dinner for you. He’ll have some when he gets back later.”

Yeosang frowned a little but proceeded to follow Wooyoung to the dining room, making light conversation with him on the way.

“You seem pretty fascinated by the library,” Wooyoung pointed out.

“Oh, I adore it. I absolutely love to read, but I’ve run out of books to read at home, so this... this is paradise for me,” Yeosang answered excitedly, causing Wooyoung to chuckle.

“I see. Sannie and I used to fool around in there a lot, but the boss eventually caught on and locked us out,” he told Yeosang, laughing mischievously. 

Yeosang looked back at him with widened eyes, shocked at Wooyoung’s bluntness about his and San’s relationship. He remembered the way they had looked at each other this morning in the kitchen and found himself blushing when he realized that they must really be in love. So far, he had never actually seen this kind of love. He had only read about it.

“Have you been together long?”

Wooyoung thought about it for a moment before nodding. “I suppose so. We have lived here for most of our lives and while we didn’t get along at first, we started to once we grew older. I think I have always had strong feelings for him... it’s a bit silly,” Wooyoung said. Yeosang was a little surprised to see the energetic man from this morning get so shy about his beloved. He smiled fondly.

“I don’t think it’s silly,” he assured Wooyoung, who looked at him, cheeks still rosy but smiling widely.

They reached the dining hall where Yeosang was greeted with an unfamiliar but tasty-looking meal. He sat down, briefly glancing at the opposite side of the table where Seonghwa had sat yesterday, wondering where he had gone to at this hour.

Yeosang ate in silence, unable to stop himself from throwing glances at the door. He somehow hoped that Seonghwa would come back. It didn’t sit right with him to know he was out there as it was getting darker.

Alas, Seonghwa didn’t join him for dinner, so Yeosang decided to get some cleaning done in the entrance hall to keep an eye on when he would return. It had been several hours and Wooyoung had mentioned that Seonghwa would be back before dark.

Admittedly, Yeosang was worried.

He was just about to head to the kitchen to ask Wooyoung, San, and Yunho whether they should look for him when the door burst open and Seonghwa dragged himself inside before promptly collapsing on the tiled floor. Yeosang yelped in surprise and rushed over to help him up.

Seonghwa was barely conscious, his face ashen, so it was a struggle to get him up the stairs. Yeosang had learned by procedure of exclusion that Seonghwa’s bedchamber lay in the west wing. And although he had been prohibited from entering it, one look at Seonghwa made him dismiss that rule. There were mild scratches over his face and his clothes were ripped in some spots.

Yeosang noticed a large head wound as well, which had probably been the reason Seonghwa had passed out in the first place. Luckily, it didn’t take him very long to determine which one of the doors led to Seonghwa’s bedchamber.

He gently lay Seonghwa down on his bed, shuffling around for some cloth and water. Through the rips in Seonghwa’s clothes he could see that his injuries seemed to be insignificant. He should pay more attention to the head wound.

“Seonghwa, can you hear me?” Yeosang asked him while gently dabbing his face with a wet cloth. A groan was the only response he got out of Seonghwa. “It’s fine. You will be fine.”

Yeosang was by no means a healer but he did his best to make sure the wound was clean and bandaged with cloth. Seonghwa’s breathing had evened out by now, a thin layer of sweat covering his body. He was running a mild fever but Yeosang was confident that he would be fine. Some of the color had already returned to his face.

While Seonghwa slept, Yeosang couldn’t help but look around. He knew that it was forbidden but curiosity got the better of him, so he began to stroll around the west wing, only for a moment, as he promised himself.

The atmosphere here was somewhat gloomier than in the rest of the castle. More portraits lined the walls. These ones showed people. A man with a crown on his head, a proud look on his face, like he ruled the world. Next to his portrait was one of a woman, delicate and beautiful with intelligent eyes. She looked like she knew all of Yeosang’s secrets.

The next portrait made Yeosang stop in his tracks altogether. It was Seonghwa. Clearly younger but it was unmistakably him. He didn’t wear a mask in this picture, but his expression was as stoic as it still was today. Next, Yeosang came across the portrait of another boy, maybe a year or two younger than Seonghwa. He looked a lot like him with the exception of the eyes. Seonghwa seemed to have inherited his mother’s eyes whereas this boy came after his father.

The last portrait showed a little girl, no older than five. She was the only one who was smiling. She cuddled a doll to her side and her hair looked slightly ruffled like she had been playing right before getting painted. Yeosang smiled a little at the sight. 

Yeosang continued making his way down the hallway and into a room without a door. It was adorned by candles and roses. There were more family portraits here, but they were covered by black see-through curtains, a candle and a bunch of flowers laying in front of each of them. Seonghwa’s father, his mother, his little brother and little sister.

Yeosang’s heart broke at the sight, stunned and touched that this man who seemed so cold honored his family in such a way. He felt like an intruder all of a sudden. He shouldn’t have gone against Seonghwa’s orders as there had probably been a reason he hadn’t wanted Yeosang to see this.

Yeosang quickly made his way back to Seonghwa’s bedchamber. When he entered, he found Seonghwa on his feet, his back facing him as he put on a robe. He must have changed out of his ripped clothes as Yeosang was looking upon a nude back. He blushed, fidgeting for a moment, struggling to regain his composure.

Quite frankly, he wouldn’t have expected Seonghwa to be so lean. He wasn’t muscular in the way Kijeong was. It was more subtle with him. He had that certain delicacy to him that seemed to run in his family. Yeosang had to admit, he found him quite attractive.

Realizing that he was staring, Yeosang cleared his throat, gaining Seonghwa’s attention. “Why are you out of bed?” he scolded him. He walked up to him and felt his forehead. Luckily, his fever had gone down but Yeosang was convinced that he would still need bedrest.

Seonghwa glared at him but didn’t protest when Yeosang gently pushed him back onto his bed.

“You didn’t go wandering around, did you?” Seonghwa asked him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Even now he was wearing the mask, so his left eye was the only thing Yeosang could see on that side of his face from his hairline to just above his mouth.

Guilt washed over Yeosang and he bit his lip. He regretted giving in to his curiosity and finding Seonghwa’s family’s memorial.

“I specifically warned you not to!” Seonghwa snapped when he correctly interpreted Yeosang’s silence.

“I didn’t touch anything, I promise,” Yeosang quickly assured him. “I... I am really sorry for your loss.” Seonghwa’s expression remained stone cold. “D- did they die during the attack?”

Seonghwa sat up again, glaring directly at Yeosang. Despite the slight sheen of sweat that covered his body and his generally weakened appearance, Yeosang couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.

“Let me guess. Wooyoung.”

“Please don’t be mad at him. I was asking questions,” Yeosang quickly defended the kitchen boy. He didn’t want Wooyoung to get into trouble with Seonghwa because of his curiosity. “I simply... wanted to get to know you...”

Seonghwa huffed, averting his gaze with a sour expression. “Trust me, you would fare better not knowing me.”

“So you’re just going to shut me out for the rest of eternity?” Yeosang asked, unable to stop himself from getting a little mad. Why would he keep people here if he never intended to actually let them in?

“It worked with the kitchen staff,” Seonghwa growled, shooting him an accusatory look.

“Really? Because they seem to know a lot about you!” Yeosang fired back. Seonghwa stood up again, glaring right into Yeosang’s eyes. Yeosang held his stare the same way he had when he had first told him that he would stay here in his brother’s stead. He was intimidated but he would be damned if he showed that to Seonghwa.

“I think you should return to your own chamber now,” Seonghwa said, his tone still low and dangerous. Despite that, Yeosang felt defiant, still not backing down.

“And what if I don’t?” he challenged Seonghwa.

“Then I’ll–”

“You’ll?” Yeosang taunted him, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

Seonghwa stepped closer to him, getting into Yeosang’s personal space, his eyes glinting with anger. “You should not test my patience, kid!”

“Kid? Come on, you aren’t that much older than me! You’re just looming your false sense of authority over me because you are too scared to let anyone in!” Yeosang yelled at him, decreasing the distance between them even further.

Seonghwa remained silent for a moment, his eyes briefly flickering down before they narrowed again. “Leave. Right now!”

Yeosang huffed and stepped back, breaking the tension between them. “Fine. You can stay alone forever, for all I care!” he snapped, turning on his heel before storming off. He was fuming all the way back to his chambers, almost sure that there was smoke coming out of his ears.

Just why did Seonghwa always manage to get him so worked up? And what was that weird tension between them just now? He blamed the warmth in his face and the racing of his heart on the fact that they had just been yelling at each other as he slammed the door to his chambers in a most undignified way.

He paced around angrily, almost inclined to rampage his entire room. He refrained from doing so, though, his mind supplying him with the reminder that he would be the one who would have to clean up the mess afterwards. The thought did nothing to soften his anger.

A knock on the door made Yeosang spin around. Had Seonghwa followed him? Was he going to apologize?

His question answered itself a moment later when San peeked inside carefully. “Yeosang,” he said. “What happened with the prince?”

Yeosang’s anger almost doubled at the word ‘prince’. “Your so-called _prince_ ”, he almost spat the word, “is a rude, mannerless, pretentious arse. I wish that I had never offered him any help at all because apparently he loves to suffer so much anyway!”

Against his expectations San smirked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorway. Yeosang didn’t know what was so amusing to him.

“You are fond of him,” San stated bluntly.

“Did you not hear a word I just said?”

San laughed, his eyes crinkling in genuine amusement. “Darling, you sound exactly like Wooyoung when he first met me. And look at us now!”

“Well, you’re not some want-to-be evil prince!” Yeosang argued, not appreciating San making assumptions about his relationship with Seonghwa. Or lack thereof.

“True, but I did bother him a lot when we were children,” San told him, a reminiscent expression washing over his features as he seemed to think back to that time.

“We are not children now, though,” Yeosang said.

San snapped out of his haze and stood up straight again, his face growing a little more serious, although the amused glint remained in his eyes. “You must understand. The boss had close to no human contact for _years_. Even we steered clear of him because of his rather murderous temper. But you... you simply stand up to him when you need to. You give him a piece of your mind whenever you feel like it and you are actually making an effort to get through to him.”

Yeosang hadn’t seen it that way before.

“Seonghwa doesn’t know how to handle this type of attention so he’s trying to do what he does best: shutting you out. But I’ve seen how he looks when he talks about you. I saw the way he looked at you this morning.”

Yeosang sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Look, I love a good romance novel as much as the next person, but there is no possible way he likes me!” It couldn’t be. You don’t hold the people you like hostage and yell at them for trying to help.

San chuckled and patted Yeosang’s shoulder in what almost seemed like an amused kind of sympathy. “Just you wait, doll, he could surprise you.”

Yeosang was about ready to ice Seonghwa out completely. He was ready to stay in his bed all day and not attend meals. A timid knock on his door crossed his plans though. Somehow, this time it didn’t seem like it was just San here to spin silly theories about Seonghwa’s feelings.

When Yeosang opened the door, he came face to face with the prince himself. He already looked much better compared to yesterday, although he had chosen to remove the cloth bandage. The wound on his head had turned into a nasty green-like purple around the edges but all in all he seemed fine.

“Good morning. I would like to apologize for my behavior last night,” Seonghwa spoke up, avoiding Yeosang’s eyes, much unlike yesterday.

Yeosang sighed. Despite his determination to stay mad, he appreciated the fact that Seonghwa had come all the way to his chambers to apologize. “I realize I was out of line. I’m sorry as well. I shouldn’t have pried around in your private room,” he said, earning himself a surprised look from Seonghwa.

He quickly schooled his features back to normal and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Would you like to join me... for breakfast?” he asked.

Yeosang felt the hint of a smile on his lips. “Sure.”

Wooyoung and San were serving breakfast when they entered the dining room, smirking knowingly when Yeosang sat down. San actually winked at him and Wooyoung whispered something to Seonghwa before they quickly scurried off, giggling.

Seonghwa looked flustered when he spoke up the next time: “I was wondering...” he cut himself off. “Would you perhaps like to take a walk with me after breakfast? It might be good to get some fresh air.”

Yeosang was a little surprised at the sudden offer but found himself agreeing. It was slowly but surely getting chillier, but it was still nice enough to go outside. He even felt a little giddy at the prospect of going outside. With Seonghwa.

The rest of the meal was spent mostly in silence with small glances being exchanged between Yeosang and Seonghwa. Something in the air had shifted between them. It was still a little tense, but it was different now.

Once they had finished eating, Seonghwa led Yeosang outside, the two of them strolling through the gardens.

“I have taken notice of it already when I first got here, your garden is outstanding,” Yeosang complimented him as they made their way along the gravel path. It smelled like an abundance of different flowers but most of them were roses. Seonghwa had them in all kinds of different colors, although Yeosang found himself liking the red ones the most.

“Thank you. I have always been very fond of this garden,” Seonghwa told him. He stopped in his tracks to pluck a red rose where the stem had almost completely cracked off the bush. He handed it to Yeosang. “As a token of apology,” he said.

Yeosang blushed as he took the rose in his hands, smelling it. “You don’t have to apologize anymore. We were just tired and upset yesterday,” he said, unable to hide the smile, though. Maybe Seonghwa really did have a gentle side. The way he dealt with these roses, treating them with so much care...

“Still, I... tend to let my temper get the better of me.” Seonghwa avoided his eyes again, looking at the rose bush behind Yeosang instead. Yeosang smiled faintly and stepped a little closer, reaching up to put the rose he had given him in the prince’s hair. Seonghwa looked at him, his eyes slightly widening at their proximity.

“Then this shall be a token of my apology as well,” Yeosang said, finally meeting Seonghwa’s eyes. They were almost as close as they had been yesterday. Now, instead of the crackling, angry tension there was a new kind of tension. Almost like Yeosang was being drawn in.

~

Yeojun burst through the doors of the tavern, out of breath and with his clothes ripped to shreds. He had spent the past week or so in the woods, trying to find his way back home and now he had finally made it. A few of the hunters were on their feet in an instant when they took in his ruffled appearance.

“Where have you been, boy? Your father has been worried sick!” Mr. Park, one of his father’s hunting buddies said to him.

“My brother...” was all Yeojun could get out.

Kijeong perked up at his words. “What about him? Where is he?”

Yeojun looked at him, remembering Yeosang’s words to steer clear of him. He needed to find his father. Since he didn’t seem to be here, Yeojun turned on his heel and hurried on home. His father was tending to Apple when he got there. The horse had left Yeojun in the woods days ago after getting startled by a sound and throwing him off.

“Yeojun! There you are, I thought you were dead!” his father had spotted him and now rushed over to pull him into a hug. “Where is Yeosang? I came home and neither of you were there, the horse was gone...”

“I... father, I’m so sorry. I didn’t listen to Yeosang and rode off into the woods,” he rambled. “I wanted to be like you, but everything went wrong and then _he_ locked me up and Yeosang traded places with me and… Dad, we have to help him!”

“Slow down, boy! What are you talking about? Who locked you up?” his father asked, his eyes wide and frantic as Yeojun tried to collect his thoughts enough to recount what happened in a way that was understandable to his father. Yeosang had been with this man for days now. Who knew if he was still alive?

He finally calmed down enough to tell his father everything. Unsurprisingly, his father was enraged. His anger wasn’t directed at Yeojun, luckily, but at the strange man from the castle. Weirdly enough, his father had been surprised to hear that such a castle even existed in these woods. But now an angry, determined glint had settled in his eyes.

“I will gather some men and you will have to lead us back to that castle, son. We are going to get your brother home,” he promised. “Let me just find Kijeong.”

“No, father! Anyone but Kijeong, please! Yeosang said–”

“Kijeong is the best hunter in this village and he cares deeply for your brother! Now wait here and get the horse ready! We’re leaving today!”

Yeojun reluctantly did as he was told, dreading his return to the woods. He wasn’t sure if he would ever find that castle again. He never _wanted_ to find that castle again. But Yeosang... he owed it to him to help him.

Yeojun’s father quickly gathered a group of hunters and together they set off in the direction of the woods. He had borrowed one of Kijeong’s horses, so Yeojun was mounted on Apple. As expected, Yeojun had a hard time steering the men in the right direction. No matter how hard he tried to remember the way he had come from, to him everything looked the same.

Even one time when he thought they were close; he couldn’t find the clearing of the woods anywhere. It was like the castle had vanished. The men grew more and more agitated and once it started to get darker, they accepted that they wouldn’t accomplish anything today. Yeojun felt panicked at the thought of leaving Yeosang behind one more day but he followed his father and the men back to the village.

He needed to find a way. He owed it to Yeosang.

~

Yeosang had picked his task to clean the library back up. Seonghwa was with him this time, telling him about his favorite books while Yeosang told him about his.

“I absolutely adored Romeo and Juliet. I have been dreaming of traveling to Italy ever since I first read it,” Yeosang said, swooning as he always did when he dreamed of the rest of the world. He absent-mindedly swept his feather-duster over the book-spines, smiling when his eyes fell onto a copy of his favorite book. “I’ve always wanted to see the places these authors so vividly described.”

When he turned around to face Seonghwa he found him frowning. “You want to travel the world...” he stated.

“I do.” Yeosang answered honestly. Seonghwa lowered his gaze at his words, looking guilty. Yeosang took a few steps down the ladder but didn’t descend completely.

“You want to travel the world,” he repeated. “Yet, you gave that up to grant your brother freedom...”

“I did...” Yeosang said, taking two more steps.

“I–”

“Look, it probably never would have happened either way. I don’t have the kind of money it takes to even travel to the next big city. It was always just wishful thinking. I was imprisoned long before I came here...” Yeosang said, his heart suddenly feeling heavy.

Seonghwa’s head snapped up suddenly, eyes wide. “I don’t want you to think of this place as a prison,” he said.

“Well, it’s hard not to when I cannot leave,” Yeosang retorted honestly.

A flicker of sadness flashed through Seonghwa’s eyes. “Do you want to leave so badly?”

Yeosang finally stepped off the ladder completely, approaching Seonghwa. “Not so much anymore. It is nowhere near as terrible here as I had first expected it to be. But I do miss my family. You understand that, don’t you?” he questioned, his mind flashing back to the portraits in Seonghwa’s memorial room.

“That I do...” Seonghwa said, a distant look in his eyes before he refocused on Yeosang. “I am truly sorry, Yeosang.”

Yeosang looked up at him, smiling faintly as his hand reached up to adjust the rose in Seonghwa’s hair. They stared into each other’s eyes much like they had in the rose garden before. Seonghwa’s slender fingers softly traced the birthmark next to Yeosang’s eye. There it was again, this gentle side of him, treating Yeosang with delicacy like he was one of his roses.

The sensation of being drawn in overcame Yeosang once more and this time he gave in.

They leaned in at the same time, their lips meeting in a slow yet intense kiss. Seonghwa’s hand cupped Yeosang’s cheek while his free arm pulled him closer. Their lips moved against each other as Yeosang’s arms snaked around Seonghwa’s neck to play with the hair on the nape of his neck. Yeosang felt himself moving backwards until his back hit the bookshelf with a soft thud, causing him to gasp.

Seonghwa used his moment of surprise to gently bite down on Yeosang’s bottom lip, earning a pleased yelp from him. Yeosang felt Seonghwa smirk into the kiss at that which only fueled his desire even more.

“It is _really_ not that bad here,” Yeosang muttered against Seonghwa’s lips before promptly kissing him again.

Now that he had gotten a taste he couldn’t get enough. Seonghwa’s hands wandered down the side of his body, causing a pleasant shiver to run down Yeosang’s spine. One of Seonghwa’s hands reached the back of his thigh to lift up Yeosang’s leg, granting Seonghwa access to press his body closer against his. Things were growing heated fast but Yeosang couldn’t really find it in himself to care at this point.

He felt almost addicted to the plushness of Seonghwa’s lips in contrast to how rough his kisses were growing, years of desperation and solitude on both sides seeping through.

Yeosang never wanted it to end.

Eventually, it did, though. Seonghwa suddenly pulled back and shrunk away like he had burnt himself. His eyes were wide, and his breath came out in quick puffs. Yeosang probably didn’t fare much better.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Seonghwa said.

“Why not?” Yeosang asked, confused at the sudden change in his behavior. Just a minute ago Seonghwa had seemed like he very much wanted to be doing this.

“We just can’t. I’m sorry,” Seonghwa insisted, his expression becoming guarded again. It made Yeosang angry to see him ease back into that man who pushed people away without reason. How could he...?

Seonghwa turned and quickly made his way out of the library but Yeosang followed him, not ready to back down so soon.

“What, so is that your new tactic?” he shouted after Seonghwa who didn’t turn around and continued walking.

“Yeosang, please just drop it for once in your life!” he threw at him over his shoulder. Yeosang being shorter had some trouble trying to catch up with him.

“No! Would you just stop!” Yeosang snapped. Seonghwa stopped in his tracks and faced him again. “You cannot kiss me like that and then take off! I am not a harlot!”

Seonghwa looked around as though he was afraid that someone might overhear them. “Could you keep it down at least?”

Yeosang huffed in disbelief. How had he fallen for this again? Just when he thought that Seonghwa wasn’t as bad as he had made him out to be the prince went ahead and proved him wrong once again.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess the great prince doesn’t want anyone to hear that he kissed a lowly village boy!” he said, intentionally raising his voice towards the end of the sentence. Seonghwa only regarded him with a scoff. “You know, for a moment there I thought you had changed. But you’re still the same rude want-to-be villain who hides behind a mask like a coward!”

“And _you’re_ an annoying nosey little know-it-all who thinks he has got it all figured out!” Seonghwa now yelled back with equal fervor. A pause followed in which they, as so often before, simply stared each other down. Then, Seonghwa suddenly deflated. His shoulders slumped and he averted his gaze. “You would not like what’s under the mask.”

The words were spoken with such sadness that Yeosang couldn’t even think of anything to say. It was easier to respond to yelling than... this. What did he mean by that?

“You will dine alone tonight,” Seonghwa told him and continued his way, probably to his chambers, without regarding Yeosang with another look.

Yeosang felt like an arse now.

Maybe he shouldn’t have lost his temper like that. He remembered San’s words about Seonghwa not being used to human contact. This was as new for him as it was for Yeosang. Maybe he should have been more understanding.

That night it was Yeosang who stood on Seonghwa’s doorstep with an apology. He knew he wasn’t allowed to be in this part of the castle, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care when he had sat down at the dinner table by himself. He knocked, nervousness settling in his stomach.

“Go away!” Seonghwa roared.

“Don’t be petulant! I came to apologize!” Yeosang called back. He heard shuffling and before he knew it the door opened. Seonghwa stepped aside to let him in. Yeosang entered the room and faced Seonghwa. “I am sorry about earlier. I was... confused about the kiss and everything. I did not actually mean anything I said.”

Seonghwa lowered his head. “I know. I didn’t either.” Somehow this felt like some sort of déjà-vu to Yeosang. Somehow, they were always apologizing to one another lately. “Aside from that, you were right.”

“What?”

“I _am_ a coward who is hiding behind a mask. I cannot even stand to look at my own face. How could others bear it?” Seonghwa told him. Yeosang’s eyes fell onto the black mask that he had grown so accustomed to. He thought back to the younger version of Seonghwa from the portrait. That person hadn’t been wearing that mask but then again, that painting dated several years back.

“I am certain it’s not as bad as you believe it is,” Yeosang tried to assure him.

Seonghwa scoffed and sat down on his bed, his hand coming up to his mask. For a moment Yeosang thought that he would take it off, but he only adjusted it. His back was slouching as he buried his face in his hands for a brief moment.

“I was the only one who survived the attack. But it left me with _this_...” Seonghwa said, gesturing at his mask, not looking at Yeosang who timidly stepped closer.

“What... what kind of attack was it?” He remembered asking Wooyoung, San and Yunho about it and that they had been very close to telling him before Seonghwa had prevented them from doing so. He was still curious, but he hadn’t dared to ask on his own accord, not wanting to upset Seonghwa. Now that he had brought it up first though, Yeosang saw an opening.

“We were attacked by beasts. Wild beasts right in this very castle. I don’t know how they got in here or what they wanted. They looked like dogs but much bigger and much wilder... I watched my family get torn to pieces without being able to help them. I barely made it out alive. Yet I did for some reason,” Seonghwa explained, sounding regretful.

Yeosang came another step closer, carefully reaching out to put a comforting hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder. His heart broke for him and he once again thought about the faces of Seonghwa’s family members. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for him to see the people he loved most meeting such a gruesome end.

“It’s not your fault, Seonghwa...” he told him, although he knew that it probably wouldn’t mean all that much to Seonghwa. He would carry the survivor’s guilt with him for a long time. Maybe even forever. “You don’t have to hide who you are. Not from me. And I’m fairly sure the others down in the kitchen also wouldn’t be driven away.”

“You haven’t seen it...” Seonghwa said, unable to look at him, his head lowered, staring at his knees.

“I’m not a shallow person. Besides, I already think you’re handsome and I won’t let a scar, or anything change my mind about that,” Yeosang told him, blushing slightly at his own honesty.

At that, Seonghwa looked up at him again. “Y- you think I’m handsome?” he asked.

Yeosang smiled at him and ran a gentle hand through Seonghwa’s black hair. “Yes, I do. Has nobody ever told you that before?”

“I mean, like I said... I’m not one for company. I guess nobody has ever had the opportunity to tell me whether they found me handsome or not...” Seonghwa admitted, his visible right cheek dusting a faint shade of pink that made Yeosang’s smile widen.

“Well, there is a first time for everything,” he said. The corners of Seonghwa’s mouth slightly turned upwards at his words. “Oh my, is that a smile?” Yeosang exclaimed. “Let’s see some more of that!”

Seonghwa chuckled quietly. “Now what would that do to my _want-to-be villain façade_?”

Yeosang laughed heartily, remembering his own words from before. He put his other hand on Seonghwa’s other shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “Come on, I don’t want to _dine alone_ ,” he teased.

This time when the two of them reached the dining hall, Yeosang decided not to sit on the other side of the table but instead chose to sit further up, to Seonghwa’s right. The table was still set from before Yeosang had decided to head up into the west wing and he poured both of them some wine.

They ate and drank their wine to the point where Yeosang actually began to feel a little tipsy. He got gigglier as time passed and Seonghwa also seemed to gradually loosen up, less shy about showing off his newfound smile. After dinner, Yeosang pulled Seonghwa to his feet and urged him to dance with him. Seonghwa’s mention about the lack of music was met with a dismissive wave of Yeosang’s hand.

What they ended up doing could hardly be called dancing. Instead, the two of them mainly swayed around from the left to the right giggling at their drunken clumsiness. The only thing steadying them was each other’s arms. Yeosang spun around like he had seen Wooyoung doing in the kitchen but that only caused him to fall over and land on his buttocks. Seonghwa rushed to his side but Yeosang only laughed at himself.

“Maybe that’s enough dancing for tonight,” Seonghwa said, brushing some fallen strands of hair out of Yeosang’s face. “I should escort you back to your chamber,” he continued.

All in all, Seonghwa didn’t seem quite as wobbly on his feet as Yeosang did and so they managed to head back to Yeosang’s chambers with no further accidents. Seonghwa made halt in front of Yeosang’s door but the other promptly pulled him inside with him.

“Yeosang!”

“Please don’t go. I don’t like to be by myself after I drank...” Yeosang pleaded, pouting as he looked up at Seonghwa who looked a little conflicted at being invited to spend the night at his quarters.

“I really shouldn’t...” Despite his words, Seonghwa let himself get dragged over to Yeosang’s bed. “Well... fine,” he gave in. “But nothing is going to happen!”

True to Seonghwa’s words, nothing did happen that night.

Yeosang passed out almost immediately after he and Seonghwa had gotten comfortable in the spacious bed. He hadn’t shared a bed with another man before, so it was a little unusual, but it also felt nice; warm and secure. Seonghwa’s presence made him feel like no harm could come to him.

In the morning, Yeosang was greeted by the sight of a sleeping Seonghwa. He looked peaceful, his mask still perfectly in place but the rest of his face visibly relaxed in a way that it never seemed to be when he was awake. Yeosang smiled and gently traced his index finger down Seonghwa’s nose and finally to his lips. They felt a little dry to the touch but Yeosang didn’t mind.

Suddenly a hand wrapped around Yeosang’s wrist, holding him in place. He startled for a second but then Seonghwa’s eyes fluttered open and he smirked at Yeosang.

“What are you up to?” he asked, his usually husky voice even lower and raspier now when it was still filled with sleep.

Yeosang relaxed again, smiling down at Seonghwa. “I am merely admiring the view...” he said.

“Would you like to take a closer look?” Seonghwa asked and gently pulled on Yeosang’s wrist causing him to almost fall on top of him. He braced himself with his free arm, now face to face with an amused Seonghwa. He let go of Yeosang’s wrist and instead cupped his cheek again. “I would very much like to kiss you right now...”

“Are you going to run away again?” Yeosang asked half-teasingly.

“Not this time,” Seonghwa promised.

“Then you are free to kiss me.”

Seonghwa smiled and pulled him closer. The kiss was more innocent than the one they had shared the day before, just a chaste locking of lips. Yeosang once again got lost in the pillowy feeling of Seonghwa’s lips as they moved against his own.

When they pulled apart their faces remained close. “This is nice,” Yeosang pointed out. Seonghwa only hummed in response before pulling him back in. Yeosang happily obliged, letting out a little squeak when he felt Seonghwa’s free hand adventurously wandering up his thigh. Not that he minded the tingly sensation his touch left behind.

“Don’t you think we should go and have breakfast?” Yeosang murmured between kisses.

“Now?” Seonghwa asked, clearly enjoying himself right where he was.

“Well, if neither of us shows up, I’m sure someone will come looking for us,” Yeosang reasoned. As much as he would love to continue, he wasn’t sure if the early morning was the best possible time.

“You’re right...” Seonghwa agreed with a regretful sigh, letting Yeosang get back on his side of the bed. “But what do you think about resuming last night’s dancing activities tonight? I would like to show you the ballroom.”

“The ballroom? How come I haven’t stumbled upon that before?” Yeosang asked, his eyes widening in awe.

“Well, I usually keep it locked since I have no use for it. But maybe we could... have a little dance, just for ourselves. If you would like to, of course,” Seonghwa suggested.

Yeosang smiled at him and leaned down to kiss Seonghwa’s cheek. “I would love nothing more.”

Yeosang practically floated through the day, continuing some of his cleaning and getting started on mending the library curtains. He felt like he was smiling the entire day to the point where his cheeks ached. It was unexpected, but he quite liked this turn of events. He liked this side of Seonghwa.

“Someone’s happy,” a voice suddenly spoke up behind Yeosang, startling him. Wooyoung stood there, grinning knowingly. “I saw your little dance party yesterday. And a little birdie told me that there would be a continuation of that tonight.”

Yeosang blushed, although not thrown off his happiness. “That little birdie was correct. I am quite excited to be honest,” he answered.

“Yeah? You’re not the only one. I have not seen the boss this happy since we were little children,” Wooyoung told him. Yeosang’s smile only brightened at that. “Anyway, do you need assistance? I am bored...”

“Is San busy?” Yeosang questioned.

Wooyoung gasped in feigned offence. “I don’t spend every waking minute with him, Yeosang,” he said in a tone that bespoke that he usually did just that. He pouted a little. “Sannie was asked to open up the ballroom for tonight...”

“Why aren’t you helping him?”

Wooyoung giggled at that. “Because the boss needs him to give him love advice. So I figured, I could offer you my services,” he replied, causing Yeosang to blush once more. Seonghwa was talking to San about him?

“W- well...” he trailed off. “I’m not sure what kind of advice I would be needing,” he told Wooyoung, partly shy but also mostly honest. Everything just flowed really well with Seonghwa. He had no experience in love but this morning he had just acted out of instinct, no advice needed.

“I suppose the only thing I could tell you is to be patient with him. This is all very new for him too,” Wooyoung said. Yeosang refrained from telling him that San had given him the exact same advice a few days prior. “Oh, and he’s actually a pretty good dancer, so make sure you keep up.”

“Don’t worry, I am sure I will be able to handle it.”

“Then my part is done. So do you need help with anything else?” Wooyoung questioned, looking around the library.

“Do you know how to mend cloth?” Yeosang asked, holding up the curtain. Wooyoung inspected it a little closer, his expression clueless. Yeosang chuckled, not needing an answer. “Fine, how about you take over the dusting then?”

Wooyoung perked up, grinning brightly and saluting. “I can do that!”

Together, the time actually passed way faster. Wooyoung was never quiet, always finding something to talk about and therefore constantly entertaining Yeosang. He found out more about Wooyoung’s and San’s relationship and the way things used to be before the attack.

“The king was tough on the outside, but he cared for his children a lot. Especially Seonghwa’s younger sister. But although he had a favorite, he never made the other two feel unwanted. Seonghwa’s mother was this real angel of a person. She was the one who took me in after finding me begging in the streets of some big stinky city. I came here a year before Sannie did...”

“Did she find him in the streets too?” Yeosang questioned but Wooyoung shook his head.

“He showed up here one night, telling the Queen that his parents had both died in a riding accident and he needed a place to stay. He was really skilled in the kitchen and he made sure to never let me forget about it. He used to really bother me,” Wooyoung recounted fondly.

“He mentioned something like that before,” Yeosang commented, watching in amusement as Wooyoung got the same reminiscent look in his eyes that San had had then. “So if you two disliked each other so much, how come you’re so fond of each other now?”

“As we grew older, we realized that we couldn’t really be without the other, you know? It may sound silly, but I’ve told you before that I have always had strong feelings for San. As a child they showed through annoyance. And then as we started to grow older that annoyance turned into physical attraction. And then... we fell in love.”

“Just like that?”

Wooyoung laughed his loud and bright laughter. “It doesn’t take that much to fall in love, Yeosangie. Especially not with someone you have known almost your entire life,” he said, jumping off the ladder with a certain elegance that reminded Yeosang of a cat. “It just happened for us.”

Yeosang hummed in thought. Wooyoung and San sounded like they could be right out of one of Yeosang’s beloved romance novels. Maybe he would end up writing one of his own one day and make it about them.

“I think you should get ready soon. It’s getting dark,” Wooyoung pointed out, ripping Yeosang from his thoughts. Wooyoung was right. The sun had almost completely set. Yeosang rushed back to his chambers to change into something more presentable. He had gotten a description of the way down to the ballroom and followed it now, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

Seonghwa awaited him in front of the pompous double doors, holding his arm out to him. Yeosang looped his arm through Seonghwa’s, a smile adorning his face as they entered the ballroom. It was basically just one big golden dancefloor. High windows stretched along the walls and on the other side of the room was a small podium with musical instruments standing on it. There were no musicians there to play them, but they had already proven before that they didn’t need any music.

“Do you like it?” Seonghwa asked him, smiling down at him.

“It’s beautiful,” Yeosang told him.

“I used to love being here as a child. My parents always held the most amazing dances in here. I was too young to properly participate in most of them, but I loved the music, the atmosphere. I loved watching people dance and enjoy themselves,” Seonghwa said, a faint smile on his lips as he looked around the room.

Yeosang pulled him along to the middle of the room. He curtsied dramatically, making Seonghwa chuckle. They began to dance, already a lot better than the night before, even without music. Seonghwa pulled Yeosang closer to himself, his hand sliding the slightest bit lower until it came to a rest in the small of his back.

“I used to dream about celebrating my wedding in here...” he said absent-mindedly, spinning Yeosang around once whose heart leapt at the words. He had never imagined himself ever getting married, since his only option had been Kijeong, but he could see this place’s appeal.

Something came to his mind suddenly, recalling Seonghwa’s earlier words again. “You said that your parents used to hold dances in here. How come nobody at my village seems to know this place exists?”

Seonghwa looked down at him, his eyes showing that little flicker of hurt again. “The mind is a funny thing. My father lost his long ago. After my little sister was born, he had this strong need to protect her. He shut the world out, not wanting any harm to come to her. He became paranoid and had guards posting outside the gates around the clock, chasing everyone who dared to come here away immediately. I suppose over time the people simply forgot about us. Especially after the attack. I shut myself off here, content in my solitude.”

“So... my brother was the first one to end up here since the gates were closed?” Yeosang asked.

“Indeed... I do not know how he found this place. Or how you did, for that matter. We are very deep in the woods. Deeper than one might think...”

Yeosang put his hand on Seonghwa’s cheek, effectively getting him out of his own head. The prince leaned into the touch, smiling down at Yeosang.

“I like it when you smile,” Yeosang pointed out.

“It’s all you,” Seonghwa told him honestly.

He closed the distance between them, leaning down to kiss Yeosang. They stopped dancing, wrapping their arms around each other as they deepened the kiss. Through their dancing they had ended up nearly at the other end of the ballroom which Seonghwa now made use of by dragging Yeosang up the two steps and lifting him onto the piano before promptly reconnecting their lips, as though Yeosang was the air he needed to breathe.

Yeosang’s hands roamed through Seonghwa’s hair as the prince’s hands gripped onto his hips tightly, yet not enough to hurt. Yeosang whimpered when Seonghwa started nibbling on his bottom lip. He cupped Seonghwa’s face and pulled back the slightest bit, looking at him through his lashes. Seonghwa’s eyes were slightly hooded, his lips swollen and glistening.

“Let me see you,” Yeosang said, thumbing along Seonghwa’s black mask.

Seonghwa leaned back a little more. “Yeosang...” he trailed off, unsure. Yeosang’s hands remained where they were, and he looked up at Seonghwa pleadingly.

“Please, I want to see all of you...”

Seonghwa hesitated for a moment and Yeosang feared that he might pull away or get angry again, but he didn’t. Instead, he reached up and undid the mask. He hesitated once more, taking a deep breath before lifting it off his face and immediately averting his gaze, so Yeosang only saw the right side of his face.

Yeosang pulled Seonghwa back in, gently turning his face. Since he had been prepared, he didn’t flinch.

Three claw-like scars raked down Seonghwa’s face. The cuts must have been really deep when they had been fresh, trailing right across his face, one just narrowly missing his eye which by some chance didn’t seem to be damaged. The cuts were a stark contrast to the rest of Seonghwa’s smooth skin on the other side of his face. They reached down his left cheek before stopping a few inches above the corner of his mouth. Yeosang noticed that Seonghwa was also missing part of his left ear.

“See? I’m hideous,” Seonghwa said, his voice thick with the pain he must have felt inside for so long. Yeosang remembered what he had said the other night.

_‘I cannot even stand to look at my own face. How could others bear it?’_

Seonghwa wanted to pull away but Yeosang didn’t let him. “You’re not hideous,” Yeosang told him, his voice barely above a whisper. He urged Seonghwa closer, kissing him again, first on the lips before letting his mouth trail across the left side of his face, leaving tender kisses along the scars. He felt Seonghwa’s grip on his hips tightening and soon tasted the unmistakable saltiness of his tears.

He briefly looked at Seonghwa again. It was unusual to see him without that mask, but he was by no means repulsive to Yeosang. He wiped his tears with his thumbs, smiling faintly at him. This time it was Seonghwa who kissed him first, relief and raw emotion seeping into it. They were practically clinging to each other at this point.

Yeosang wanted more though, fumbling with Seonghwa’s cloak and his shirt but before he could do more than unbutton the top buttons the ballroom door burst open on the opposite side of the room.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” It was San, his voice echoing in the almost empty ballroom. They turned to face him. San’s eyes widened the slightest bit upon seeing Seonghwa without his mask. Although it seemed to be due to surprise instead of disgust. “It seems... we are under attack,” he finished.

“What?” Seonghwa exclaimed.

Wooyoung came running after San. “It’s a bunch of villagers with pitchforks. A few of them even have swords and they are demanding for Yeosang’s immediate release,” he exclaimed, out of breath.

Yeosang’s eyes widened in realization. “My brother must have alerted the villagers,” he told Seonghwa, letting the prince lift him off the piano.

Seonghwa looked troubled for a moment, looking out of the countless windows, none of which faced the entrance. He then grabbed Yeosang’s upper arms, looking at him intently. “You must go then...” he said.

“What...?” Yeosang asked, hardly believing his ears. Seonghwa wanted him to go? Now of all times?

“They’re here for you. I’m setting you free, Yeosang. Go back to your family...” Seonghwa instructed him, gently caressing his cheek with a pained look in his eyes.

“B- but... you–” Yeosang stammered.

“Go, Yeosang...”

Yeosang stood up on his tiptoes to kiss him one last time, his own eyes now welling up with tears before pulling back and reluctantly leaving the ballroom behind. Nobody followed him. He was free but why didn’t it feel like it?

Yeosang stepped through the heavy door of the entrance and lo and behold, half of his village stood there, shouting angrily and raising their weapons. Yeosang raised his arms to show that he was unharmed, hoping that he could divert the crowd. Most of them seemed relieved to see him but a few continued to advance towards the castle, among them Kijeong.

“Yeosang!” It was his father’s voice. Yeosang spun around only to spot his father and Yeojun running towards him, relieved expressions on their tear-stricken faces. Out of the corner of his eye Yeosang saw a few of the hunters storming into the castle, Kijeong leading them. He wanted to go after them, but his father promptly pulled him into a hug.

“I thought I would never see you again!” Yeojun cried, also hugging Yeosang.

He was glad to see his family again, but his mind went back to Seonghwa and the hunters with their swords. They would hurt the inhabitants of the castle if nobody would call them off. He couldn’t let that happen!

“Father, we need to stop them!” he exclaimed frantically.

His father tightly held his upper arms, inspecting Yeosang for wounds. “No need to be scared, son. That man won’t make it out of here alive!”

“No, listen to me–” Yeosang started, but his father drew his sword and stormed inside as well. Yeosang turned to face Yeojun. “You need to send everyone home. I am not hurt, I am free to go whenever I please, but I need to stop them from hurting him.”

“W- what are you talking about? He kept you prisoner!” Yeojun protested.

“Please just trust me. I need to go,” Yeosang said and quickly ran back inside after his father. Most of the hunters had been stopped by Wooyoung and San fighting them off back-to-back with pistols. The only one Yeosang couldn’t see was Kijeong.

“Yeosang, where are you going?” he heard his father shout.

“There’s no danger, call them off!” Yeosang shouted over his shoulder running back towards the ballroom, hoping that Kijeong hadn’t been smart enough to follow the lights there.

Yeosang registered the sound of swords clinking together the closer he got to the ballroom. His lungs were burning from all the running, but he couldn’t stop now. He burst through the grand doors of the ballroom finding Seonghwa and Kijeong in the middle of a sword battle. Yeosang clasped his hands over his mouth, barely suppressing a gasp. He didn’t want to risk Seonghwa getting distracted.

“Look at you,” Kijeong taunted him, disgust evident in his voice. “You’re a monster!” Seonghwa didn’t reply and instead looked for an opening in Kijeong’s defense.

Yeosang had his troubles with Kijeong, he despised the man but even he had to admit that he was an outstanding swordsman. Seonghwa was holding his own though, fighting off Kijeong’s attacks and not paying attention to his vicious words.

Just when it had seemed like Seonghwa was gaining the upper hand, Kijeong reached behind him, pulling a dagger from his belt and tried ramming it into Seonghwa’s side. He didn’t manage to bury the dagger in him, but he had still hit him judging from the amount of blood that splattered onto the floor. Yeosang yelped in shock. Seonghwa wheezed and crumpled to the floor, Kijeong now standing over him triumphantly.

He raised his sword to deliver the final blow to Seonghwa but Yeosang stood between them, protecting Seonghwa with outstretched arms.

“Stop it, Kijeong! He has done nothing wrong!” he shouted, his heart constricting at the pained wheezing sound Seonghwa let out behind him.

“ _Nothing wrong_?” Kijeong repeated disbelievingly. “He has held you hostage and you are defending him?! This... this _monster_?”

Yeosang’s eyes darkened and he poked am accusatory finger into Kijeong’s chest. “He is not a monster, Kijeong! You are! Now leave this castle and never come back. You have done enough damage!”

Kijeong threw his sword aside and grabbed Yeosang’s arm with force. His usually smirking face now showed blatant rage. “You’re coming with me! We are going back together and then you’re finally going to marry me!” Kijeong growled at him.

Yeosang spat in his face. “I would rather take your dagger to my chest than marry you!”

Enraged, Kijeong wiped his face, pulling Yeosang along but he continued to struggle. “I have had it with you and your games, Kang Yeosang. What, you think you’re too good for me, now that you have spent some time in this dusty castle?! I’ll show you!” he exclaimed, lifting his hand. Yeosang flinched, bracing himself for a smack. But it never came. Instead Yeosang heard the unmistakable sound of a sword piercing through a body.

A gasp – then the grip on Yeosang’s arm loosened.

He dared to open his eyes just in time to see Kijeong falling to the ground, a sword sticking out of his chest. Seonghwa was holding himself up with the last of his strength, blood smeared across his face and a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Yeosang threw himself to the floor next to him just in time to catch him in his arms before he finally passed out. He lifted Seonghwa’s shirt to inspect the wound. His side was bleeding rather badly and would definitely need to be stitched up. 

Yeosang was just about to help Seonghwa to his feet to get him out of here when Wooyoung and San came back in, closely followed by Yunho. They all looked a little roughed up but other than that they didn’t seem to be hurt.

“Are you two unharmed?” Wooyoung asked, eyes falling onto Kijeong’s lifeless body.

“I am fine but Seonghwa needs stitches. Help me take him to his room,” Yeosang instructed. Yunho stepped up and lifted the unconscious prince up into his arms, as though he weighed nothing. They hurried in the direction of the west wing.

“Yeosang,” his father’s voice called out to him, momentarily alarming Yeosang. Were the hunters still here? But his father seemed to be alone. He came running up the stairs, looking worried. “Son, what is going on?”

“I will explain myself later. Right now, Seonghwa needs my help,” Yeosang said, running off without further hesitation.

He followed the others to Seonghwa’s bedchamber, glad to see that they hadn’t waited around for him. His shirt had been removed and San was currently cleaning his wound.

“I might need a bigger needle. Wooyoung could you get me some alcohol for this?” Yeosang asked. Wooyoung complied silently, which in itself was already an indicator for how serious the situation was.

After cleaning up the wound and stitching it up Yeosang remained at Seonghwa’s bedside, watching his unconscious prince, dabbing the sweat off his forehead with a cloth and just observing him. He had been lucky. The cut had been deep but not deep enough to hit anything vital.

Yeosang was still shaking from tonight’s events. The image of Kijeong’s lifeless body wouldn’t leave his head. He had hated the guy with a passion and he sure wouldn’t cry over him, but it had been a shock nonetheless.

A knock sounded on the door and Yeosang looked up. Yeojun peeked inside shooting a wary look in Seonghwa’s direction and not setting a single foot into the chamber.

“Could you join us outside in the hall for a moment. Father would like to speak to you...” Yeojun said, his voice tired. He looked like he was going to collapse from exhaustion at any given moment. Yeosang threw a reluctant glance at Seonghwa before getting up from his bedside and following his younger brother outside.

“This castle is eerie...” Yeojun mumbled as they walked down the hallway of the west wing.

“It’s actually rather beautiful,” Yeosang defended it almost automatically. In the short period of time he had stayed here, he had come to love this place. Not just because of its enormous library.

Their father waited at the end of the hallway, nervously pacing around. Yunho was standing not too far from him, keeping a close eye on him in case he would try something. Yeosang shot Yunho a reassuring smile causing him to leave them be.

“Yeosang... I am so glad to see you’re unharmed,” his father said, taking Yeosang’s hands into his own.

“I’m perfectly fine, father...” Yeosang said.

“But... has this man not held you prisoner? Why did you want me to call off the men? Why did you help him?” Yeosang’s father asked, utter confusion on his wrinkled face. Yeosang lowered his head, unsure how to explain everything to him.

“It’s true. I became his prisoner in Yeojun’s stead. But Seonghwa is not a bad man. He... he was just lonely,” he tried.

Yeojun snorted. “You don’t lock people in cells only because you’re lonely!”

“Yeojun!” Yeosang said in a warning tone. “I realize that you feel hostile towards him, but I wasn’t mistreated while I stayed here. In fact... I...” he trailed off. “I have fallen for this man, father.”

“F- fallen... Yeosang, you need to come home with us.”

Yeosang shook his head, smiling. “I am being serious father. I am right where I want to be. I feel at home here. Please don’t be angry,” he pleaded before proceeding to recount the entire story of his stay here right down to tonight’s battle with Kijeong. He made sure to include the previous negative feelings he had had for Kijeong.

His father was silent for a while. He looked around, taking in the high ceilings and the long hallways before looking at his eldest son.

“I- I suppose, Kijeong is out of the question for you. I’m sorry for neglecting you two and leaving him in charge... but... are you sure you want to stay here?” he asked, looking around once more.

“I am. I have never been surer of anything.”

“Yeosang, Seonghwa is waking up,” Wooyoung suddenly called for him. Yeosang spun around before looking back at his father, silently asking him for permission, although he didn’t actually need it. If his father happened to be against it all, he didn’t think he would let it stop him.

“Go ahead,” his father said, waving him off.

Yeosang rushed back to Seonghwa’s chambers to find the prince stirring in his bed. He was by his side in a heartbeat, looking at him.

“Am I dead?” Seonghwa asked dazedly. He groaned a moment later. “No, apparently not...”

Yeosang chuckled, his eyes welling up with tears of relief. “You’re not dead. You’re going to be fine...”

Seonghwa’s features darkened with sadness. “But you are leaving me... I have set you free, so you have no reason to remain here...” he said, averting his gaze. He still wasn’t wearing his mask, so the scarred half of his face was now facing Yeosang.

“I have one reason for you,” Yeosang told him, sniffling unattractively. “I love you.”

Seonghwa’s head snapped back in his direction so fast that Yeosang was almost surprised he didn’t break his neck in half. His eyes were wide and full of surprise and countless emotions. “What did you just say?” he asked, as though he was unsure whether it was his injury playing mind tricks on him.

Yeosang took his hand in both of his and squeezed it once. “I said: I love you, Seonghwa.”

“I- you- but why?”

Yeosang laughed, wiping his tears with his sleeve, lifting Seonghwa’s hand up with him in the process. He never wanted to let him go again. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Seonghwa’s lips. “How about you stop asking the foolish questions this time,” he said teasingly.

Seonghwa pulled him back down again, kissing him with renewed fervor. “I love you too,” he said once they had parted. “Are you really going to stay with me?”

“I did promise you eternity, didn’t I?” Yeosang asked, gently brushing Seonghwa’s black hair out of his face, and caressing his cheek. “I am a man of my word, after all.”

One year later the doors of the castle were opened for the public for the first time in a long time. The occasion was to celebrate the royal wedding of Prince Seonghwa and Kang Yeosang. The prince had decided to shed his mask for good, proudly wearing his scars.

Yeosang was excited to see the ballroom full of so many people. He understood what Seonghwa had meant. He loved seeing the people dancing and chatting happily. In midst of all Wooyoung and San who were waltzing, now with actual music playing, much like they had been all that time ago in the kitchen.

Yeosang turned to Seonghwa, stretching out his hand, silently asking him to dance. Seonghwa smiled at him and complied, spinning Yeosang around once before pulling him in.

“Let’s do this more often,” Yeosang said, swaying to the music with his husband.

“What, get married?” Seonghwa joked.

It was still surprising to Yeosang sometimes how carefree Seonghwa had gotten once he had shed his mask. He was laughing and joking more openly now. Of course, he still had moments where he would shut out the world when the pain of missing his family overwhelmed him too much. But all in all he had started to become somewhat close to a genuinely happy man.

“No, silly. I mean have these dances. You still love them, don’t you?” Yeosang asked, smiling up at his handsome prince.

“I do... you’re right. We should find more reasons to celebrate...” Seonghwa said, looking around with a fond expression on his face. Yeosang’s entire village was here and the ballroom would easily fit twice as many people. “But later I want to celebrate with just you...” he continued.

Yeosang chuckled, swatting lightly at his chest at the implication. It had been pretty difficult for them to keep their hands off each other until their wedding night, but Yeosang had insisted that it was better this way, to make it more special. Seonghwa had openly cursed the novel he had picked up that idea from. But Yeosang had already promised him that he would make it worth his while.

“I love you, my prince,” Yeosang chirped, standing up on his tiptoes to press a kiss onto Seonghwa’s lips.

“I love you too.”

~

“Sannie, how come we have practically been together our entire lives and you have not popped the question yet?” Wooyoung whined, his gaze on the royal couple in their happy newlywed bubble. He and San were still dancing, their arms slung around each other, straying from the traditional waltz and aiming more for physical contact.

San chuckled at his beloved’s antics. He spun Wooyoung around before gathering him back into his arms and pressing a quick kiss to his nose.

“Patience, my dearest. Our time will come.” 

**Author's Note:**

> so? what did you think?  
> feel free to leave me a comment  
> and/or follow me on twitter either on:  
> @joytiny_ or my ateez account @princessyeosang


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